Control

# Control with Intel Core i5-14600KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti delivers a robust Control experience across all tested resolutions, with the data showing a clear GPU-bound scenario at higher settings. This combination ranks in the 89.5th percentile of all tested combos for this title, placing it at rank 389 out of 3,720 total combinations. The 14-core, 20-thread processor with a 3.50 GHz base and 5.30 GHz boost clock provides ample headroom, while the RTX 5070 Ti's 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus delivers 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The measured frame rates reveal a system that excels at high refresh 1440p gaming and remains comfortably playable at 4K, though the scaling patterns indicate where the performance ceiling truly lies.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K produces a dramatic shift in frame rates that clearly identifies the GPU as the primary limiter in this configuration. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 232 at 1920x1080 to 119 at 3840x2160, representing a 48.7% reduction in performance as pixel count quadruples. This scaling pattern is textbook GPU-bound behavior — the CPU has no trouble feeding frames at 1080p, but the render workload at 4K overwhelms the graphics card's throughput.

The Medium settings row provides the most complete data, with min and max frame rates recorded at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the average sits at 165 FPS with a minimum of 140 and maximum of 190. Moving to 2560x1440, the average falls to 125 FPS with a range of 106 to 143. At 3840x2160, the average drops further to 84 FPS with a minimum of 72 and maximum of 97. The step-down from 1080p to 1440p costs 24.2% of average performance, while the jump from 1440p to 4K costs another 32.8%. These diminishing returns are characteristic of a GPU that becomes increasingly saturated as resolution climbs.

High settings tell a similar story: 146 FPS at 1080p, 111 FPS at 1440p, and 75 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop is 24.0%, and the 1440p-to-4K drop is 32.4%. Ultra settings follow the same trajectory with 127, 96, and 65 FPS respectively. The consistency of these percentage drops across all quality presets strongly suggests that resolution, not graphical complexity, is the dominant factor in performance scaling. The RTX 5070 Ti's 43.94 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 686.6 GTexel/s texture rate are simply more taxed as output resolution increases.

At 4K, even the lowest settings only produce 119 FPS average, which means the GPU is working hard regardless of visual fidelity. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 54 FPS (119 vs 65), while at 1080p that same gap is 105 FPS (232 vs 127). This compression of the settings range at higher resolutions further confirms that pixel throughput, not shader complexity, is the bottleneck. Players targeting 4K will need to accept either high refresh rates with reduced quality or maximum visuals at around 65 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF brings substantial processing power to this pairing, with 14 cores and 20 threads operating between 3.50 GHz base and 5.30 GHz boost clocks. The processor's Raptor Lake-R architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process, includes 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB of L2 cache per core. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32,544 and a single-core score of 4,594, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs tested.

Control is a game that benefits from strong single-thread performance, and the data shows the i5-14600KF is never the limiting factor in this configuration. At 1080p Low settings, the system produces 232 FPS average, which is well beyond what most displays can show. Even at 1080p Ultra, the 127 FPS average indicates the CPU is keeping up with the GPU's output. The processor's 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier suggest headroom for overclocking, though the measured results show no signs of CPU starvation at stock settings.

The nearest rival comparisons for this CPU show it trading blows with top-tier AMD and Intel parts. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900 scores 49,228 on average, just 0.3% below the i5-14600KF's 49,394 average benchmark score. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G is 0.4% behind, while the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 trails by 0.8%. Only the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 edges ahead at 49,796, a 0.8% advantage. These margins are negligible in real-world gaming, confirming that the i5-14600KF has ample compute headroom for Control.

The processor's Passmark multithread score of 38,697 and single-thread score of 4,273 indicate strong all-around performance. The data compression score of 485,140 and floating point math score of 93,048 suggest the CPU can handle any background tasks while gaming without impacting frame rates. Control's physics and particle systems, which can be CPU-intensive in dense scenes, are unlikely to cause dips given the measured minimum frame rates at Medium settings — 140 FPS at 1080p, 106 FPS at 1440p, and 72 FPS at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Control?

A: The data shows 2560x1440 at High settings provides 111 FPS average, which is ideal for high-refresh monitors. At 4K, High settings yield 75 FPS, which is playable but not optimal for competitive play. The 1080p results exceed 146 FPS at High settings, making that resolution the best choice for maximum frame rates.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5070 Ti's average benchmark score of 49,957 places it just 0.1% behind the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64's 50,001. It beats the Intel Arc A550M by 0.4% and the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT by 3.1%, while trailing the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT by 2.0%.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 4K?

A: The scaling data clearly shows the GPU is the limiter at 4K. Low settings at 3840x2160 produce 119 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 65 FPS — a 45.4% reduction purely from graphical load. At the same resolution, the CPU has no trouble maintaining high frame rates, as evidenced by the 232 FPS result at 1080p Low.

Q: What frame rates can I expect with Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data. At 1920x1080, expect an average of 165 FPS with a range of 140-190. At 2560x1440, average 125 FPS with a range of 106-143. At 3840x2160, average 84 FPS with a range of 72-97.

Q: How does the i5-14600KF perform against comparable CPUs?

A: The processor's average benchmark score of 49,394 places it 0.3% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 trails by 0.8%, while the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 leads by 0.8%.

Q: Is this combo ranked well for Control specifically?

A: The combination ranks 389th out of 3,720 tested combos for Control, placing it in the top 10.5% of all configurations. This indicates strong performance relative to the broader hardware landscape tested for this game.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 389 out of 3,720 total combinations places this system in the 89.5th percentile for Control performance. This is a strong showing that reflects the balanced nature of the pairing. The RTX 5070 Ti's percentile of 86 among all GPUs and the i5-14600KF's percentile of 90 among all CPUs suggest both components are performing near the top of their respective classes, and their combined output in Control matches expectations.

The rank position means that roughly 3,331 other combinations tested for Control perform worse than this setup, while 388 perform better. Those superior combinations likely feature higher-end GPUs like the RTX 5090 or AMD's flagship cards, or CPUs with more cores for heavily threaded scenarios. However, the measured frame rates show this combo delivers excellent playability across all resolutions and settings, with even the most demanding 4K Ultra scenario maintaining 65 FPS average.

For context, the GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks — the RX Vega 64, Arc A550M, RX 6900 XT, and RX 6800 XT — all have lower or comparable average scores but none exceed the RTX 5070 Ti's performance by more than 3.1%. The CPU's rivals are similarly close, with the largest delta being 0.8%. This tight clustering means the combo's rank is more dependent on the GPU's real-world game performance than on synthetic benchmark superiority.

The 89.5th percentile ranking also suggests that Control is a title where this hardware configuration shines. Some games favor NVIDIA hardware, and Control's use of DirectX 12 Ultimate features, which the RTX 5070 Ti fully supports, likely contributes to the strong showing. The GPU's 70 RT cores and 280 tensor cores provide ample resources for any ray tracing or DLSS features the game might employ, though the measured data does not specifically test those features.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 1440p, the High preset at 111 FPS average offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. The jump from Medium to High costs only 14 FPS (125 to 111), while the jump from High to Ultra costs 15 FPS (111 to 96). The Medium preset's minimum frame rate of 106 FPS ensures smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes, making it the safest choice for competitive play where frame consistency matters more than peak visuals.

At 4K, the Medium preset at 84 FPS average with a minimum of 72 FPS provides the most consistent experience. High settings drop to 75 FPS average, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for frame time spikes. Ultra at 65 FPS average is the choice for maximum visual fidelity, but the lack of min/max data for that preset means the frame pacing is unverified. Low settings at 4K produce 119 FPS, which is suitable for players who prioritize frame rate over everything else.

For 1080p, every preset delivers playable frame rates. The Ultra preset at 127 FPS is the best choice for visual quality without sacrificing smoothness, while the Medium preset's 165 FPS average and 140 FPS minimum make it ideal for high refresh rate displays. Low settings at 232 FPS will exceed the refresh rate of most monitors, making that preset only useful for extreme competitive play or benchmark comparisons.

The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot across all resolutions. It provides the only complete min/max dataset, indicating the benchmark captured stable frame delivery. The 4K Medium result of 84 FPS average with 72 FPS minimum is particularly notable — it shows the combo can maintain playable frame rates at 4K without dropping settings to their lowest. The gap between Medium and High at 4K is just 9 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 10 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns at the highest preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full settings ladder shows consistent scaling. Low settings produce 232 FPS average, Medium produces 165 FPS with a minimum of 140 and maximum of 190, High produces 146 FPS, and Ultra produces 127 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 67 FPS (28.9%), while Medium to High costs 19 FPS (11.5%), and High to Ultra costs 19 FPS (13.0%). The largest drop occurs when moving from Low to Medium, indicating that the Medium preset introduces significant graphical features that impact performance.

At 2560x1440, the same settings ladder shows 176 FPS at Low, 125 FPS at Medium (106-143 range), 111 FPS at High, and 96 FPS at Ultra. The Low-to-Medium drop is 51 FPS (29.0%), Medium-to-High is 14 FPS (11.2%), and High-to-Ultra is 15 FPS (13.5%). The percentage drops are nearly identical to 1080p, confirming consistent scaling behavior across resolutions.

At 3840x2160, Low produces 119 FPS, Medium produces 84 FPS (72-97 range), High produces 75 FPS, and Ultra produces 65 FPS. The Low-to-Medium drop is 35 FPS (29.4%), Medium-to-High is 9 FPS (10.7%), and High-to-Ultra is 10 FPS (13.3%). The consistent percentage drops across all three resolutions — approximately 29%, 11%, and 13% for each successive preset — demonstrate that the relative cost of each quality tier is resolution-independent.

The Medium preset's min/max data at each resolution provides insight into frame consistency. At 1080p, the range is 50 FPS (140-190), at 1440p it is 37 FPS (106-143), and at 4K it is 25 FPS (72-97). The narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests the GPU's workload becomes more uniform as pixel count increases, reducing the impact of scene complexity variations. The minimum frame rates — 140, 106, and 72 FPS — all remain above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, confirming that this combo delivers a consistently playable experience even in demanding moments.